$37,600 for Stephanie on Glass House!

It's revealed that Stephanie got $37,600!!!  She has been so much fun to watch - just like being in the room with her.  So happy for her.  Tonight's show opened with a dancing interlude, viewable at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m_NUTSb2aoI    The players learned about the temptation challenge, and Steph made her move when the offer reached the figure mentioned above.  Pix in this post are old-school photos of my tv screen from tonight's episode.  Yay, Steph!  So proud of you!

Resurrected the tutu from the vampire costume for the dancing interlude.  Just won Tuesday's team challenge, so they're still wearing the team shirts.

Working in the kitchen again?  Darn, Stephanie, what will the rest of them eat when you leave? You look adorable.

Whatever happens - I'm going to have fun!

Pi tattoo in the reflection.  Looking elegant, Steph.

Aaaaaaaaand ..... back in the kitchen!

A big pile-o-dollars?  I'll take it!  See ya!

Out of the Glass House and back to her real life.  Love you!

A Twist with a Big Pay-Off!

If you came to this blog from the ad in the local newspaper, thanks for your interest!

For anyone reading:  Spoiler alert.  This is information that won't be aired on TV until Monday, 8/6/12.  To view any clips or episodes, visit
http://the-glass-house.abc.go.com/shows/the-glass-house/view-and-vote


On a special midnight challenge Tuesday, 7/31, the players were offered a "temptation".  Stephanie was in the group of six players remaining from the original fourteen.  These six players were offered varying amounts of money in return for leaving the game.  After each dollar amount was displayed, the first person to accept the money would win that amount and would leave the game.  When any one of them accepted an amount, the challenge would be over.  The remaining players would then play out the rest of the season and hope that they could win the first place prize.  ABC announced that there would be no prize for second or any other place.

Stephanie reasoned that she was not as likely as a couple of other players to win the first place prize.  She waited through several substantial offers before she saw a number she liked, and she took it!  We will find out how much it was when the show airs on Monday night.  However, there was a live feed leaked to some people Tuesday night, and that video shows that she passed on $7777.77 and $13,400.xx.  Some have speculated on the final amount online, but there's no proof until Monday night.  This video is not on the ABC website, but it can be found on several hidden websites.

I'm so happy she took the prize because:
 -- She had announced during the first episode on 6/18 that data says reality shows are won by the handsome white guy, and she is not that player.
 -- Anyone who left the show at this point was going to be replaced by Mike who has a history of disagreeable behavior on the show.
 -- She can get back to her family, her friends, and her work - all of whom/which she loves.
 -- And, really (!!!), final six out of the fourteen who even made it to the show!
 -- Her mother is very relieved to have her out of there.
 -- I was going to say that she's equally rational and adventurous, but she's 100% rational, 100% realistic, and 100% adventurous.  She guaranteed herself a prize with this move.

Steph and Tim in Prague - Not that far from where they lived in Munich. They always had fun!

Gratuitous picture of Tim and his mom in the Munich airport - the only photo I have with his pi sign cufflinks.  His birthday is 3/14 or pi day.  Steph, Tim's dad, and his brothers all have pi tattoos in Tim's memory.  Same thing I planned to get on the mass-tattooing visit, but I told the artist that I just needed a little peace and got a peace sign.

 

Wedding cake faces - 7/28/07

Steph on The Glass House:  "Oh, it's a puzzle !!!!!!"  (Yaaaaay!)

I will post here when we learn what she won.  Thanks, everyone, for your interest in and support of Stephanie.  If this is your first time here, there are only two previous posts, and you can read a little background about Stephanie and see a couple of pictures.  Steph can be proud of her performance in this adventure.  She maintained her composure and stayed positive in the face of some pretty rude behavior and reality show drama.  She was shown to be bright, witty, helpful, capable, and loyal.  That and a big paycheck are pretty good things to take home!  Love her.

Steph is one of six remaining!

Stephanie survives another week in The Glass House.  Voting is more and more important as the weeks pass.  Fourteen people were on the first episode in mid-June, and only six players remain in the house.  Voting instructions are the same as described in the previous post.  Stephanie asks that we vote to bring back Joy (only allowed starting 10:00 pm Central Time on Monday, 8/30, and ending at 4:00 pm Central Time on Tuesday, 8/31).  Be sure to also click the "Vote" button under Stephanie's picture before 4:00 pm Central Time on Tuesday.

http://the-glass-house.abc.go.com/shows/the-glass-house/view-and-vote

This is the second week in a row for Stephanie to win a challenge to stay in the house.  She *is* great under pressure, but it's getting nerve-wracking!  Tonight is episode 7 of 10 total episodes.

As a side note, I was able to travel to visit Steph's family on the week-end.  We spent almost all of the waking hours laughing and telling stories.  Now I have some serious leverage to use on her brother, and I know where he keeps his vast sticker collection from the 80s.  She and her family are normal, hard-working, welcoming people.  Steph's mom always tells me about when Stephanie brought Tim home the first time and went into the kitchen to see if he could help.  Then he announced, "I'm going to marry your daughter."  That turned out to be prophetic.  The first time Tim brought Steph home to us, his family, he whispered to me, "If I have anything to say about it, this is going to be your daughter-in-law."  Some time later when our families were going to meet each other for the first time, Tim had said to both families, "You won't even need to get to know each other because our two families are just alike." 

If you haven't voted yet, please vote right away.  If you're reading this sometime past the deadline on Tuesday, then go ahead and vote ahead for next week.  Voting is important every week.

Many thanks to all who are supporting Steph.  Some of you know our family's whole story, and you surely know how we are hoping for Stephanie to win.

Voting becoming crucial!

ABC's reality show "The Glass House" started in June with fourteen players and the number has been whittled down to seven.  Stephanie is still in.  Hurray!

The bad news:  Stephanie didn't have enough viewer votes during the week and had to be one of the team captains.  The competition took place on Wednesday even though it will be aired on Monday, 7/23.  She has always had plenty of votes before, so maybe people started thinking that their own votes weren't important.  But every vote IS important.  Vote now to keep her from having to be a team captain next week.  Scroll down the web page to the line-up of player pictures and click "Vote" under Stephanie's picture.  It isn't good to be a team captain for the week's challenge because the losing team captain goes to limbo along with another player from the losing team.  Please vote every week until the series ends.   You can sign onto the ABC web site with a Facebook or Twitter account, or you can make an ABC account.
I made an ABC account using the (tiny) "Join" at the top of the page and following their directions.  I haven't gotten any spam from them, and I've been registered with them for over a month
(jlink-certified as spam-free <3).  There is no phone voting.

http://the-glass-house.abc.go.com/shows/the-glass-house/view-and-vote

The good news:  Stephanie's team won the challenge of the week by a wide margin and she is safe from limbo this time.  The challenge will be shown as part of the weekly show Monday night, 7/23, 9:00 pm Central Time, on ABC.  The challenge was a puzzle and she's great with puzzles and logic.  It's easy to see that the viewer voting must be done well ahead of time.  Voting for Stephanie before 4:00 pm Central Time on Tuesdays will determine whether she has to be a team captain.  Sometimes the web site crashes, so it is always good to vote as early as possible.

With Tim in Lisbon, 2008

If Steph is ever sent to limbo, we only have a few hours to vote to bring her back.  The best time to vote is directly after the Monday night show.  The deadline is 4:00 pm Central Time the next day (Tuesday).  Previously the deadline was 6:00 pm, but ABC changed it and could change it again.  This voting is done on the same web page listed above, but it will be a separate box on the left asking which of two people should return to the Glass House.  Again, it's best to vote early in case the site crashes.

Why are we campaigning for Stephanie?  She is our daughter-in-law, having married our oldest son Tim in 2007.  Tim and Steph moved to Germany in the fall of 2007 to work for their respective companies, Steph a chemist and Tim a chemical engineer.  Sadly Tim picked up the bacterium that causes meningitis, it attacked his adrenal glands, and he went from seemingly well to gone in one day at age 31 in September, 2008.  Stephanie moved back to the United States and has been putting her life back together.  She knows first hand the value of living a life fully and she is always ready to step up to a challenge. Steph continues to stay in touch with us and visit us even though she is living and working in Boston.  We know her to be a positive person who is caring, fun-loving, adventurous, and as smart as the day is long.  ABC found her through MENSA which is the same place that Tim found her.  She wants to use the prize money to finance a PhD.

Ready to watch a Formula One car race with Steve and Tim, 2007

Her assets on the show:  She is cheerful and bubbly, honest, well-spoken, brimming with enthusiasm, creative, willing to do 100% of the viewers' challenges whether cameras are on or off, engaging in interesting conversations, always cooking and straightening things up, and true to herself.  What you see is how she really is.  I have read online comments calling her a fake because she's always singing and busy.  Anyone who knows her can tell you that it is not an act.  She has more energy than anyone else I know, and she's in the uppermost percentile on the happiness scale.  Also consider that she is entertaining herself as there are no televisions, radios, books, or even writing paper.  She made a whole chess set and a backgammon board and dice out of masking tape and has been playing games with Jeffrey.

Her weaknesses on the show:  She doesn't stir up trouble, doesn't make drama only to get camera time, isn't having a "showmance", doesn't swear at people, ...  You get the picture.  There must be viewers who like arguments and drama, but I think she's kind of refreshing.

So ...  a plea:  If you're on the computer once or twice a week, please take time to vote for Steph.  One of these remaining seven people *is* going to win $250,000.  Might as well be Steph!

And please share the website and any details with like-minded acquaintances.  I think it would be great to see a regular person win something!  .... Yes, it does feel awkward to be recommending a reality show to our friends and family.  Watching the one hour Monday evening show is confusing at best.  We just like to get to see Steph.  Non-watchers can vote just as well as watchers.

Please comment if you have questions or more ideas for ways I can work for Stephanie.